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AN EXPLAINER: HOW THE 13TH AND 14TH AMENDMENTS SERVE AS PILLARS FOR A NATION THAT GOVERNS FOR ALL

In 2026, the United States will commemorate 250 years since the founding of our current democracy—a moment that invites both reflection and responsibility. This milestone is not only a celebration of our origins, but a call to take up the unfinished nature of the American experiment—one launched with a Declaration of Independence and a constitutional promise that our laws and institutions must ultimately serve all people.

The next chapter of our democratic journey requires us to step into the role of co-founders of a more just nation—one yet to be born—and a flourishing democracy still waiting to be fully realized.

At PolicyLink, we believe this future must be grounded in a renewed understanding of the US Constitution—not as a static document, but as a living framework for what must come next. Central to that vision are the 13th and 14th Amendments, which together marked a profound moral and legal turning point in American history. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and laid the foundation for universal civil freedom. The 14th Amendment extended the reach of those freedoms, granting citizenship, ensuring equal protection under the law, and empowering Congress to act decisively to secure the rights and dignity of all people.

In this explainer, we will describe how the 13th and 14th Amendments have laid the groundwork for landmark civil rights laws across generations and hold powerful potential to redesign this nation to finally govern for all. 

The 13th Amendment Lays the Foundation for Freedom for All

Of the 27 Amendments added to the US Constitution over the past 250 years, the 13th and 14th arguably stand out as a profound legal and moral shift — from a founding that excluded so many of us to a vision of democracy meant to include and serve us all.

Arriving in the wake of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, the 13th Amendment was intended to do what the Emancipation Proclamation and prior legislation could not: create durable and enforceable civil rights for formerly enslaved persons. And while the 13th Amendment marked the first time that slavery was rebuked by the Constitution, it would also include civil rights for all persons experiencing involuntary servitude, including persons who are not of African descent, providing civil rights protection to countless immigrants who labored to build our nation.  

The 13th Amendment is far more than a historic remnant of that one critical milestone—it remains a powerful moral and legal foundation in the ongoing journey to ensure that all truly means all. 

It has maintained its moral authority, driving landmark civil rights laws spanning generations, from the 1866 Civil Rights Act to the 2007 Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and, more recently, the 2009 Matthew Shepard and James Boyd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.1 Over time, the 13th Amendment has been recognized as a “charter of universal civil freedom for all persons, of whatever race, color, or estate, under the flag…”2

The 14th Amendment Establishes the Constitutional Promise of Rights and Equal Protection for All

Like the 13th Amendment, the 14th Amendment is also a watershed moment in the history of our democracy. It established the legal foundation for granting citizenship to everyone born or naturalized in the United States. The 14th Amendment gave Congress the authority to make “all laws which shall be necessary and proper to secure to the citizens in each State all privileges and immunities” and “equal protection in the rights of life, liberty, and property without due process or denying people equal protection under the law.”3 

Put another way, our freedom and rights and privileges as people in America—including equal protection—are granted to us by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

Before the 14th Amendment, the Constitution only constrained the federal government’s ability to infringe on the rights of citizens. This meant that state and local governments were free to deny those rights, and Congress lacked the power to enforce protections. The 14th Amendment changed this by extending constitutional protections to the states and giving Congress the authority to ensure those rights are upheld everywhere. 

Congress had limited time to pass and ratify the 14th Amendment before Southern representatives—many of whom were opposed to civil rights—returned to Congress, where it was expected that any civil rights legislation would be blocked. To secure enough support, compromises were made during the drafting process. For example, explicit reference to race and color was removed from the provision prohibiting discrimination, allowing the amendment to gain broader approval.

Since its ratification, the 14th Amendment is believed to be the basis of, or to have inspired, at least in part:

  • Civil Rights Act of 1871; 
  • Enforcement Act of 1870; 
  • Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871; 
  • Civil Rights Act of 1875; Civil Rights Act of 1957; 
  • Civil Rights Act of 1964; Voting Rights Act of 1965;  
  • Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; 
  • Civil Rights Act of 1968; 
  • Fair Housing Act; 
  • Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”); 
  • Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978; 
  • Religious Freedom Restoration Act (“RFRA”); and 
  • Respect for Marriage Act. 

This history of the 14th Amendment makes it clear that the way people have been treated—both in the past and today—has an impact that needs to be remedied and considered into the future. 

The 14th Amendment is not a mandate for race neutrality (“colorblindness”) or a call to ignore difference. Rather, it acknowledges the enduring impacts of injustice—and establishes a constitutional responsibility for government to act affirmatively to address them. Rooted in the aftermath of slavery, the Equal Protection Clause recognizes that when harm, discrimination, or systemic exclusion is directed at any group, it imposes a duty on government to ensure fairness and equity under the law. This promise goes beyond Black Americans as descendants of enslaved people; it extends to all and can apply to all groups who have faced discrimination, oppression, or harm due to government policies and practices—including women, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants, and religious minorities. Its promise is expansive: when government policies or practices produce harm or inequality, the Constitution demands not neutrality but meaningful remedy.

Crucially, the 14th Amendment must be understood as a mandate not only for equal treatment but for equal outcomes—a necessary means for ensuring that the badges and incidents of slavery have been removed. It is a mandate for ensuring that historical and ongoing discrimination sanctioned by the government is no longer plaguing the lives and opportunities for all who have experienced discrimination, oppression, and harm from government policies and practices. Unless and until we see outcomes equalizing for all, we have not lived into the constitutional promise of equal protection—nor have we fully realized the transformative intent of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The 14th Amendment Establishes the Constitutional Promise of Rights and Equal Protection for All

The Constitution, including its Amendments, is not static and is intended to be perfected. Congress, as the voice of the people, has this power.

While judicial interpretations of the 13th and 14th Amendments have evolved over time—sometimes expanding rights and protections and at other times constraining them—both Amendments clearly empower Congress to implement and enforce their provisions. The 13th Amendment was originally interpreted narrowly, focusing primarily on chattel slavery and involuntary servitude, limiting its application in early cases. In contrast, the 14th Amendment granted Congress broad authority to prohibit differential or discriminatory treatment on the basis of race, religion, and national origin, and over time, its protections have been extended through judicial and legislative action to prohibit discrimination based on gender, age, sexual orientation, alienage and other classifications recognized by Congress. Notably, the Supreme Court has held that Section 5 of the 14th Amendment grants Congress  “broad remedial powers” to address and remedy past harms, explicitly acknowledging that in exercising this authority, Congress need not “act in a wholly ‘color-blind’ fashion.”

The Supreme Court has, at times, both expanded and limited the rights and protections of the 14th Amendment. But our constitutional system of checks and balances ensures that Congress—as representatives of the people—has the authority to pass a law when a Supreme Court decision does not serve the public interest. Throughout history, Congress has overridden Court rulings by passing legislation that strengthens protections. For example, the Civil Rights Act of 1991 amended Title VII to bolster safeguards against employment discrimination. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act passed by Congress remedied a Supreme Court decision and allowed the recognition of psychological coercion as a form of human trafficking. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act reversed a Supreme Court decision and strengthened the ability of people to sue employers for discriminatory actions. Similarly, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act superseded a Supreme Court ruling around the governmental interest in religious expression. The Constitution—and its Amendments—are living documents meant to evolve and be perfected. Congress, as the voice of the people, holds the power to drive that progress.

We Are The Founders

Together, the 13th and 14th Amendments offer more than historical correction—they provide a living constitutional framework to transform how our nation governs. They call us to build institutions that actively deliver equal protection for all. These Amendments are not just legal tools; they are moral imperatives that authorize and obligate us to redesign our democracy so it serves everyone—especially those who have been historically harmed by government action or inaction. As we mark 250 years of US democracy, let us not merely commemorate the past—let us commit to completing the work of building a nation where freedom is universal, rights are real, and equal protection is not just promised but delivered. The 13th and 14th Amendments light the path forward—and we can be the generation tasked with realizing their full power.

End Notes

[1] Congress’s Matthew Shephard anti-hate crime law applies to other groups besides race. Thus far it has not been challenged so it is unclear how it may be treated by courts. In defending the law’s legality under Thirteenth Amend., the Department of Justice argued that groups protected by the law would have been races/ethnicities at the time of ratification.

[2] Bailey v. State of Alabama, 219 U.S. 219, 242 (1911).

[3] “The Congress shall have power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper to secure to the citizens of each State all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States, and to all persons in the several States equal protection in the rights of life, liberty, and property.” CONG. GLOBE, 39th Cong., 1st Sess., 1034 (1886).